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HANDOUT #2
Five times Alexander McQueen made history in fashion

The great fashion maestro Alexander McQueen passed away eight years ago today. Born in
Lewisham, London, McQueen quickly rose to fame with his talent and exquisite eye.

By Lim Li Ying

Alexander McQueen may have been big on theatrical effects, but his work was not without
substance. He was in the vanguard of British fashion in the early days, along with headlining
names that are well known these days in the fashion field, such as make-up mogul Pat
McGrath, fellow designer John Galliano, and fashion stylist Katy England. When he
committed suicide in 2010, the world lamented the loss of a major talent.

Today, in honour of his memory, we look back on five of his most unforgettable moments in
fashion.

1. By and large, fashion was a medium of expression for McQueen, whose creations
have always explored polarising themes such as life and death, man and machine.
His collections and showmanship always pushed the limits, cajoled, and shocked the
fashion realm. From catwalk shows staged in the fringes of London to subversive
designs, a gothic Victorianism always ran through the veins of his collections.
2. Succeeding John Galliano at Givenchy, McQueen’s famously provocative catwalk
style showed through even before his own eponymous fashion house was conceived
– one of which included double amputee Aimee Mullins modelling his collection on
exquisite, carved wooden prosthetic legs.
3. EYE, McQueen’s first runway show in New York, became the talk of town with pre-
show rumours that models would be suspended from the Brooklyn Bridge. Staged at
the out-of-the-way Pier 94 Warehouse with models seemingly afloat upon a pond of
daggers, coupled with an extreme weather alert, this show no doubt left a deep
impression of what McQueen continued to offer.
4. Mainstream fashion could not get enough of McQueen, as his influences ran rife
throughout the ’90s and early 2000s. The skull printed scarves were all the rage –
celebrities were in love too. From Nicole Richie to Johnny Depp, the skull prints
became a hallmark fashion motif throughout the noughties.
5. Remember the ’90s when Britney Spears had her jeans slung low, really low? Well,
McQueen’s “bumster” collection, which debuted in autumn/winter 1995, featured
many pieces that go so far as the crotch, with the top of the bum showing without a
 hint of shame. The enfant terrible was quoted describing this look as his effort “to
elongate the body ... not just show the bum. To me, that part of the body – not so
much the buttocks, but the bottom of the spine – that's the most erotic part of
anyone's body, man or woman”.
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/fashion-beauty/article/2136262/5-times-
alexander-mcqueen-made-history-fashion

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_McQueen_by_FashionWirePress.jpg